The NHS Leadership Academy appoints the OU in its largest ever leadership programme

The Open University pitch team

The NHS Leadership Academy has today announced who it will partner up with to offer the largest and most comprehensive approach to leadership development ever undertaken.

Following an eight month process, the Academy has chosen internationally-renowned academic institutions and high preforming firms to work together to roll out foundation, mid and senior level leadership programmes for up to 25,000 NHS staff. The three programmes join other Academy programmes such as Top Leaders to form a wider approach to leadership development covering entry to executive level roles.

The Academy is teaming up with leading distance learning provider The Open University and global management consulting firm Hay Group to design and deliver the foundation level programme. The programme is for all NHS staff aspiring to a role which involves leading others.

The mid-level programme, which is for those who manage teams and services, and senior level programme, for experienced individuals who aspire to executive level roles, will be designed and delivered by the Academy and global firm KPMG, in partnership with leading academic institutions Manchester Business School and the University of Birmingham. The partnership will draw on its links with other world-renowned organisations, such as Line communications, Harvard University, Erasmus, University of Pretoria, Microsoft and BT, in the design of the programmes.

The partners were chosen through a competitive and rigorous tender process, which saw more than 30 organisations bid to be part of the consortium.

The three programmes will be centered on the patient perspective with the support of charities organisation National Voices and patients themselves. Leading clinicians and managers in the NHS will also support the partnership in designing the programmes.

The three programmes will see thousands NHS staff each year - including doctors, nurses, Allied Health Professionals, healthcare scientists, HR, and finance staff– learn how to lead their teams and /or services to achieve better patient care.

Karen Lynas, Deputy Managing Director of the NHS Leadership Academy, said: “This is probably the most impressive partnership I have ever come across in the realms of leadership development. The Academy will be working with globally respected academic institutions and high performing organisations with a history of leadership development to design and deliver three exceptional leadership programmes.

“Our goal is for patients, carers and families to be treated with compassion, dignity and respect, and this cannot be achieved if we don’t have appropriately-skilled leaders and decision makers at every level.

“The programmes will not only cultivate the leadership skills and expertise required for the NHS, but will also develop role models and inspirational leaders for the next generation of NHS professionals.“This is about shifting outstanding leadership practice from a GP practice, a ward, a hospital, a home or a community, to an ‘everywhere’ model.”

More about the three programmesThe Academy’s three programmes will for the first time create a cadre of appropriately skilled leaders at every level and from every professional background.

The emphasis in all three programmes will be on helping leaders in the NHS support their staff in delivering caring and compassionate services.

The foundation and mid-level programmes will have an academic award; a postgraduate certificate, diploma or master’s degree. Participants will undertake the programmes on a part time basis, alongside their existing roles.

The programmes and the Academy’s other development work form the largest leadership development approach in the world, in terms of reach.